Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Rep. Royce: 'Turkey's Creeping Authoritarianism Continues'

Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., denounced a referendum in Turkey that expanded President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers over the legislature and judiciary, The Hill reported.

“Turkey’s creeping authoritarianism continues,” Royce, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, said in a statement Tuesday. “All who value democracy, pluralism and Turkey’s key role in the region should be concerned about the elimination of important checks and balances in the Turkish system.”

He added, “I am especially troubled by initial reports of irregularities and an ‘unlevel playing field’ from independent election observers, and I will review the full body of facts when they are released in the days ahead.”

Voting irregularities were reported during the referendum, which gives Erdogan the power to appoint ministers and top judges and call elections whenever he likes. It also transfers power to the president by taking away the position of prime minister. Erdogan on Sunday called the passage of the referendum a “historic decision.”